Dec 11, 2011; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens defense including tackle Haloti Ngata (92) and linebacker Terrell Suggs (55) and defensive end Pernell McPhee (90) do a group cheer during the game against the Indianapolis Colts at M

A question that is frequently asked heading into training camps is: how will the Ravens new defense fare next season? The Ravens, for the first time in a decade, will be putting out a defense without the talents of Ed Reed and Ray Lewis. Losing two players that are the caliber of Ed Reed and Ray Lewis would be enough to send any team into disarray. The Ravens also lost talented pass-rushing outside linebacker Paul Kruger to AFC North rivals, The Cleveland Browns. They also lost to free agency the man that they expected to replace Ray Lewis when Dannell Ellerbe left for Miami. The Ravens cut ties with strong safety and resident hot head Bernard Pollard. An off season like this on defense would cripple most teams for years. Luckily for the Baltimore Ravens they’re not most teams and their front office is the best in football.

They key to this off season was not to replace the talent of Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. Those two are irreplaceable assets to the team. You have one of the greatest ball-hawking safeties to ever play the game and, I say this with pride, the greatest inside linebacker to ever play the game.  You cant replace what those two brought to the organization. That being said and as great as those two men were over the years for the Ravens, they were getting old and it was starting to show. As for the other men lost, I had high hopes for them if they resigned with the team. I think both have a lot of talent and they will be missed. But as Ravens fans learned this off season, you have to move on and you have to do it quickly.

The Ravens were not as good on defense last season as they have grown accustomed to being. They were ranked 17th overall on defense. They played better against the pass than they did the run. In the run game they were ranked 20th in the league allowing an average of 4.0 yards per attempt and they gave up over 100-yards rushing 9 times last season. Ravens fans are not used to seeing teams run the ball at all against out defense. I think part of that was due to poor line play, injuries, and the fact that our defense was getting up there in age.

Well, the Ravens addressed the defensive line during this off season. They brought in stout defensive tackles Chris Canty and Marcus Spears to help anchor that defensive line. With the addition of those two, plus Terrance Cody and third-round draft pick Brandon Williams the Ravens should have a lot of options moving forward here. Canty is a big upgrade from Ma’ake Kemoeatu who started most of the season at the defensive tackle position after winning the job from Terrance Cody. Hopefully this influx of new faces on defense can light a fire under Terrance Cody too. His play last year was not up to snub with what the Ravens expected of him after the 2011 season, he’s going to need to up his level of play again if he wants to become a regular fixture on the defensive line. Reports are saying that he has lost a bunch of weight heading into the mini camps. If this is true it is a good sign because it is showing that Cody has the dedication to becoming a better player.

The defensive end position has also gotten a bit of a revamp as well. Most likely we’ll see Haloti Ngata moving around on the defensive line, but I feel that in the past he’s been most effective while he has been on the end position. He’s great at shooting gaps inside, taking on double teams, and sealing the edge against the run, but we all know that. The biggest improvement to the defensive end/outside linebacker position is easily Elvis Dumervil. The Ravens managed to swoop in and grab Dumervil after a fax snafu in Denver resulted in the untimely release of the all-pro pass rusher. Obviously I really like this addition to the team, not just for the talent aspect, but we’re getting a better deal at the position that Kruger would have been playing. The Ravens signed Dumervil for 5 years @ $35 Million. Kruger’s deal with the browns came at a much steeper price when he signed a 5 year contract worth $42 million. So replacing Paul Kruger who, wasnt very productive until later in the season when Terrell Suggs came back. We get a prove all-pro pass-rusher. I’d say that’s a pretty good deal. I’d also like to point out, not that many of you need this pointed out, but the Ravens defense was without two defensive player’s of the year for most of the season. Terrell Suggs was out for the first 6 games of the season, and Ray Lewis missed the last 10 games of the season leading up to the playoffs. Ngata was also playing some of the season with injury as well.

The Ravens are going to be starting the season, barring any major injuries during the pre-season, with three all-pro players who like to get after the quarterback. I think that it is safe to say that any offensive line is going to have their hands full trying to block Haloti Ngata, Terrell Suggs, and Elvis Dumervil. Another great addition to the team, I think, is going to be John Simon. I could very well see him working his way into a starting position as the weak-side defensive end. The Ravens could move Dumervil into the other outside linebacker position opposite Terrell Suggs.

The linebackers, particularly the inside linebacker position, was one that raised a lot of speculation. The Ravens needed someone to replace Ray Lewis. Let’s face it, no one is going to replace what Ray Lewis meant to the team. Replacing his production however might be a bit easier. Ray Lewis was definitely showing signs of age last season, while he could still make tackles in between the tackles, his use in coverage was somewhat lacking and teams with better tight ends often tried to pick on Ray Lewis and the couple of steps that he had lost. That being said he did have 57  tackles in 6 games for the Ravens during the regular season (44 of them were solo tackles). Pretty good numbers overall, but I think that the Ravens can meet those numbers with other players. They signed Rolando McClain, a man 14 years Ray Lewis’ junior. He has a troubled past, and didnt help ease the worries of Ravens fans when just nine days after he was released from the Raiders and signed a contract with the Ravens, he was arrested for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. If he does make the team he is still a good line backer and can put up numbers that could rival what Ray Lewis was putting up toward the end of his career. He is young and has a lot of room to grow if he can keep his nose clean. He was a former first round pick for the Raiders and there was a l0t of pressure on him to become a franchise line backer there. I think that he can find a good spot here on the Raven’s roster where there is not as much pressure on him to preform. He can just get back to playing football. That being said the Ravens have also added some insurance through the draft. They do play a 3-4 defense mostly, so the need for two inside linebackers is a must. The Ravens also addressed this need by drafting a phenomenal linebacker in the second round, Arthur Brown. The Ravens also have Jameel McClain coming off of an injury. He knows the system because he’s been in it for years now. If he’s healthy he could also contribute to the Raven’s defense in a positive way. Let us not forget Courtney Upshaw either. Upshaw had a pretty good rookie season with the Ravens and has a lot of versatility. I could definitely see him being moved inside and a good 4-man rotation of Upshaw, McClain, McClain, and Brown producing well. Upshaw is also a good pass-rusher and I could see him filling in and getting some playing time at the outside position. Also not mentioned in the defensive linemen discussion was Pernell McPhee. No, I didnt forget him. The Ravens have expressed interest at moving him to outside linebacker to see if he can play there. McPhee is a very talented player and can play at multiple positions on the field. Its not set in stone, so if he doesnt work out he could very well fight right back into the rotation on the defensive line, but I’m definitely interested to see how McPhee handles the transition.

The Raven’s secondary is also one with a lot of holes. The Ravens went out and replaced Ed Reed with Michael Huff. Huff, like McClain, was also cut from the Raider’s roster this off season to free cap space. Huff is a solid coverage safety that will probably give the same amount of production as Ed Reed would have given anyway. While he doesnt have nearly the career numbers that Reed does, I think that at this point in Ed Reed’s career he and Huff are playing at about the same level defensively. Lets look at the numbers:

Ed Reed last season - started 16 games,  58 tackles, 4 INTs, 16 PDs, 1 TD

Michael Huff last season - started 16 games, 56 tackles, 2 INTs, 13 PDs, 0 TD.

Both guys are putting up similar numbers at this point in their respective careers. If we’re just looking at numbers, then Huff is a good fit for the team. His instincts are nowhere near as sharp as Ed Reed’s. That cant be replaced. Huff is a solid player who is versatile because he can play coverage as a safety, he can play bump and run as a corner (which he likes to do) and he can even line up in the slot and cover some of the bigger tight ends in the league. I think for the money we’re paying Huff, 3 years @ $6 million we’re getting a really good value. Reed is set to make $15 million over the same time frame as Huff. Another stat I would like to point out is that last season Ed Reed missed 21 tackles in the open field. Huff in the last 3 seasons combined has only missed 18 tackles in the open field. I’ve liked Huff ever since he came out of college because he knows how to wrap up and tackle. This will definitely help the Ravens in their run defense if the ball carrier can make it past our very stout, very tough front 7. The Ravens also managed to draft safety Matt Elam in the first round to replace Bernard Pollard. Elam is an All-SEC guy and plays the game much like Pollard. He loves playing man-on-man and delivering big hits to receivers coming over the middle. While covering the draft I actually saw him compared numerous times to former Colts safety Bob Sanders. As most of you may know Bob Sanders was a VERY promising safety in the league who could never quite get over the injury bug that affected his whole career. If Elam can stay healthy and live up to that comparison, I think the Ravens struck gold with pick #32. Also in the secondary we still have Ladarius Webb. He’s coming off quite a gruesome injury, but all signs are pointing to a very smooth recovery. The next starting CB is probably going to be another first round pick from a couple of years ago, Jimmy Smith. I could see Graham starting on the other side. He is a very good player who could continue to develop into something special. But I would really like to see Smith finally rise to the occasion and become the corner back the Ravens expected him to become when they drafted him.

After taking a full look at the Ravens defense, I am very comfortable saying that I expect them to be a top-10 defense again this year. Obviously I could be bold and say that they are going to be a top-5 or even top-3 defense, but there are too many question marks that still need to be answered. Despite the fact that they are without two future hall of fame defensemen on their roster, I actually think that the Ravens are going to be better off. They’re younger and faster on defense. While the experience isnt going to be there, I feel that the Ravens also have more than capable players that will step into the leadership void left by Reed and Lewis.  There is a lot of potential on the defensive side of the ball and with the coaching staff that the Ravens have on defense I’m sure that we could see a lot of talent developed this season and a great Raven’s defense put out there. Something that the fans are used to seeing.

November 18, 2012; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; The Pittsburgh Steelers offense lines up against the Baltimore Ravens defense during the third quarter at Heinz Field. The Baltimore Ravens won 13-10. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

One area of the game that had often gone overlooked was that of the trenches. Sure a lot of the skill players who would get the recognition would continually give love to the men down in the trenches, but as fans we sometimes over looked these positions as part of the game. Well if this year’s draft taught us one thing, the men in the trenches are getting the love that they deserve and are being recognized publicly as the backbone of most championship football teams. Offensive linemen saw a lot of love in this years draft, as well as in recent years, and the same can be said for the guys on the other side of the ball. More and more we read about the stellar athleticism of pass rushers and defensive linemen and how important they are to football teams. The Ravens are no different. A lot of their rebuilding this off season focused on the offensive and defensive lines. Here is a look at what we can expect to see from the Raven’s defensive line this season.

One facet of the game that has greatly changed for the Baltimore Ravens is their defensive line. A lot of new faces are going to be wearing purple and black jerseys this season and a good amount of them are going to be featured on the defensive line. The Ravens lost a few key people that helped out on the defensive line last season, but I think overall they vastly improved an area of the game that wasn’t as good last season at it has been in recent seasons. The Ravens started this off season losing a lot of players to free agency. Luckily none of the big names that left were ones that consistently played on the defensive line. The only big name that we really lost upfront was Paul Kruger, but he was more of an outside linebacker that got shifted down into a down end position sometimes. So really we only lost a player who occasionally fit on the defensive line in some packages. The only real direction that we could go this off season was up and thanks to some brilliant GM moves by Ozzie Newsome, the Ravens defensive line is really on the upwards trend.

Free Agents Signed: 

DT Chris Canty

DE/DT Marcus Spears

DE Arthur Jones

DE Elvis Dumervil

Draft Picks:

DT Brandon Williams

LB/DE John Simon

DE Kapron Lewis-Moore

Easily the biggest name signed by the Ravens this off season was Elvis Dumervil. After a very strange fax snafu over in Denver the Broncos found themselves without the talents of the all-pro pass rusher and the Ravens were very quick to jump all over this and make Dumervil realize that the place he is wanted most is in Baltimore wreaking havoc on quarterbacks with fellow all-pro pass rusher Terrell Suggs. Looking at Dumervil’s role I imagine that he will predominantly play the same role as Terrell Suggs, just on the other side of the field. He will probably be a hybrid defensive end/outside linebacker. I think for the value that we got him at 5 years, $35 million as opposed to the contract that Paul Kruger recieved from the Browns @  5 years, $41 million. I think the Ravens got a far better player for a much better price.

The middle of the defensive line was also something that was a bit lacking last season. The Ravens were 20th in the league last year against the run allowing 4.0 yards per attempt, allowing over 100 yards rushing 9 times last season. A major contributing factor to this was definitely the interior line as well as the fact that Holati Ngata had to play outside of his natural position and attribute more of his skills to the interior of the line, leaving the outside of the defensive line more vulnerable and the Ravens unable to seal the edge at time against the run. Well That has all been taken care of. The Ravens went out and signed big defensive tackled Marcus Spears and Chris Canty. Chris Canty is definitely the better of the two, but Spears is a big, athletic down-linemen and is pretty good at sealing interior gaps to help disrupt the running game. Arthur Jones is another move that I really like. I love that the Ravens brought him back into the fold because I think he still has a lot of upside and he can play both end and tackle so he has some versatility. When it comes to the interior line I dont expect the Ravens to bring back Ma’ake Kemoeatu, he did pretty well inside for the Ravens last season, but he got pushed around a bit and had tendencies to disappear from games. I think the Ravens rotation on defensive line will work just fine with Cody, Canty, Spears and rookie Brandon Williams.

The Ravens also managed to address the defensive line in the NFL Draft that just passed. One player in particular that I absoloutely love out of this years draft is defensive end John Simon out of Ohio State. Simon is a natural leader on the field. He has an unbelievable work ethic and a non-stop motor. Its been reported that Simon frequents the gym 3-4 times a day while still going to all practices that are required of him. He’s not the most athletic guy out there, but his football smarts and natural instincts allows him to play at a very high, very aggressive level. Brandon Williams is a guy that most people wont know about. He’s a defensive tackle from a D-II school but the kid is a freak athlete. He tied for the most reps at the combine on the bench press with 38. That’s 38 reps at 225 pounds. He’s also pretty quick and does a good job at sealing gaps. Lewis-Moore is a player that I feel can develop really well into our system. He’ll probably see more time than he would have because of McPhee moving into a linebacker role for the Ravens, but I do believe that Lewis-Moore is good enough to work his way into some games. He plays a good 5 technique. I actually think that Lewis-Moore is a better pass rusher than Jones and is more stout defensively than McPhee. His skill set falls nicely in between those two guys and at the position that the Ravens got him in, I think that he was a good value pick.

Players still here from last season:

OLB/DE Terrell Suggs

DE/DT Haloti Ngata

DT (DE/OLB?) Pernell McPhee

DT Terrance Cody

DT (MLB?) Bryan Hall

One thing I mentioned was that the Ravens are going to be tinkering with the position of Pernell McPhee. McPhee is a player with a lot of talent. I dont know if this is going to be a permanent thing, but there have been talks about the Ravens moving him to OLB/DE. Their defense is filled with a ton of players that can play a multitude of positions. That being said, McPhee isnt the only player reportedly making a position change off of the defensive line. Bryan Hall, and undrafted free agent in 2011, is a player that the Ravens and John Harbaugh really like. He was on their practice squad in 2011 and worked his way onto the 53-man roster in 2012. He is a good athlete and if the Ravens think that he can contribute better at the inside linebacker position I would love to see how he fits there. So that being said, from the defensive line last season, two people who played games there are going to be playing different positions. Its going to be interesting to see how well they transition into those positions, but with the versatile players the Ravens like to sign, I dont see any issue with having them trying something new.

As for the players that are still there. I dont see any reason why we should question the ability of Haloti Ngata or Terrell Suggs. I see these two as the guys who are going to have to take over as leaders for Ray Lewis and Ed Reed on defense. Suggs I see fitting into that role well. He was already a leader on defense and isnt afraid to rally the troops when he knows the team isnt playing up to par. Haloti Ngata is a bit more soft spoken than Suggs, but I think he can definitely shoulder the burden of being a defensive leader and carrying this line. He is a phenomenal player who is at the top-tier of his position on defense. He can play anywhere on the line, but I think he is a bit more comfortable playing on the outside of the line at an end position. That doesnt mean he cant slip down into a NT position, but I really do think his talents are best used sealing the edge against the run. He’ll get a lot more time to do that this season thanks to the additions of a good core of defensive tackles.

Terrance Cody has been talked about a lot this off season. Not for the same reasons he was a year ago however. This off season a lot of people are focusing on the rather poor play he showed throughout last season. Cody definitely did not live up to expectations coming off a very successful season the year prior that actually resulted in him losing his starting position on the Ravens defensive line. This season I still have high hopes for Cody. Reports say that he has lost a bunch of weight in an effort to become a more athletic DT. This is a great sign, but last season he had a tendency to look a bit sluggish out there. I would love to see Terrence Cody bounce back this season and have another great season.

Feb 3, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs (55) against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

With The Draft upcoming, i thought it would be appropriot to take a look at some of the shining accomplishment and most glaring faults in terms of draft picks.

Now That I Have Recapped the Ravens 10 worst draft picks, lets get to the good stuff, Here are the Ravens 10 best draft picks of the past 10 years. Like with the worst picks, I have a few parameters here.

1. Players who signed a second contract with the team were given priority over those who did not.
2. Non Starters were not included. There are way to many good picks for me to include players who don’t start, at least occasionally.
3. Players on the Superbowl squad were given the edge over players who were not.
4. Proven commodities are worth more than potential success.

Those arent shackling restraints, but because the Ravens draft so well, this was actually a bit of a challenge. There are probably a lot of player that should have made this list but didn’t, just because there wasn’t enough room on the list to include everyone.

We finally have arrived at former defensive player of the league Terrell Suggs.

The Ravens snagged Suggs at 10th overall in the 2003 NFL draft. It turned out that They probably should never have had a shot at him because he probably should have been to top pick in that draft. He certainly has turned into the best pro.

Suggs made his mark on the NFL immediately by doing what he did in college, get to the quarterback. Suggs took home defensive rookie of the year honors becoming just the second Raven to win the award(Peter Boulware being the other). As the years went on Suggs just got better and better. He developed a full lexicon of pass rushing moves and gained a better feel for the game. He began to drop into coverage and played well. He started to become a force in the run game as well. Now, When healthy Suggs is the most complete outside linebacker in the league. There are no flaws in his game. He is an elite pass rusher, one of the best run defenders in the league and among the top 3-4 OLBs when asked to cover the pass or man up against tight ends.

Suggs abilities all came together in an incredible 2011 campaign which ended in him being the runaway winner of the defensive player of the year award. He became the 3rd winner of the award in the Ravens short history(Ray lewis x2 and Ed Reed).

Suggs showed his toughness this year by playing through a torn achilles and a torn biceps. He missed about half of the season, but the fact that he played at all was incredible.

So how good is Suggs? Well, in 2008 when Suggs, Ray Lewis and Bart Scott were all free agents, Suggs was chosen over Ray Lewis as the player the franchise most wanted to keep. That says something.

When Healthy, Suggs is the best OLB in the NFL, and the third best pick in the past 10 years for the Ravens.